I just signed up. I must be losing my mind if I really think I'm going to do it, since I don't even know what to write about...but, hey, maybe! I may end up writing something that isn't really a novel. Who knows?

_________________Man, fork the gender card, imma come at you with the whole damned gender deck. - Olives Did you ever think that, like, YOU are a sexy costume FOR a diva cup? - solipsistnationblog!FB!

Have you ever done it before? I've been doing it for years and I LOVE it! It really kicks my asparagus into gear and forces me to write, whereas normally I'm way too insecure and I talk myself out of actually doing any writing. Plus the Boston region has an amazing community. You should check out the boards for your area to see if they host any events, because those are so much fun!

_________________Your heart is a muscle the size of a fistKeep loving, keep fighting

I was all set to do it. I have a synopsis and everything, but my responsible adult self is preemptively finger wagging at my creative self that there's no way I'll have time to do this and work on the research I want to try to get published this winter. Booo.

I've tried for two years and failed both times. This year I'm determined to finish it! ... even though I haven't got a single idea yet. But I think I like that better. Last year I had every single chapter thought out and I was kind of bored writing it and just gave up (granted, I wasn't in a very good place at the time either). This year I think I'm just going to sit down and write. It'll be fantasy - it's always fantasy - and there'll probably be some political aspect, but I refused to plan this month. Which means I'll probably fail, but hey, at least I'll fail in a different way than I did last year!

Good luck to everyone else, I'm looking forward to it!

_________________Yeah it’s two R’s, h-o-r-r... yeah, right."So something ripped him open and ate out his insides?" "Like an oreo cookie! ... well, except for, you know, without the chocolaty cookie goodness."DON'T WARN THE TADPOLES!

I'll be doing it for the first time this year. I've meant to do it every year since I was thirteen, but I always miss it for some reason.

_________________Real vegans eat nothing but organic, grass-fed grass. - FootFaceI avoid protein on principle. - IsaChandraI used to dress up like Wonder Woman but I didn't grow up to an Amazon Princess who dabbles in bondage and flys an invisible jet. -idatetattoedguys

I'm doing it. I failed last year because I was sick, but I'm so going to make it this time.In case anyone wants to add me as their writing buddy, my NaNo name is Anathema Device (after the young witch in Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, and also my BookCrossing name). :)

The only thing that worries me about this is the fact that you have to upload your novel after it is done, to prove that you've done it. I'm really paranoid it will get stolen, even if it turns out to be utter crepe.

_________________Real vegans eat nothing but organic, grass-fed grass. - FootFaceI avoid protein on principle. - IsaChandraI used to dress up like Wonder Woman but I didn't grow up to an Amazon Princess who dabbles in bondage and flys an invisible jet. -idatetattoedguys

I'm starting to be a little nervous. I have an idea... but fork me sideways, it's NOT a fantasy story! It takes place in the real world, and there's no magic, no alternate dimensions, no made up anything. Actual people. This is a problem for me! The one thing I could always rely on is that if I needed something to be possible, I could just decide that in that world, it was possible! I've finished six (almost seven) really awful stories with that logic! How am I going to bullshiitake my way out of plotholes when it takes place in the real world?!

Anyway, good luck all. It's sunday evening here at the moment, so I have one more night and then it's on, baby.

_________________Yeah it’s two R’s, h-o-r-r... yeah, right."So something ripped him open and ate out his insides?" "Like an oreo cookie! ... well, except for, you know, without the chocolaty cookie goodness."DON'T WARN THE TADPOLES!

I'm starting to be a little nervous. I have an idea... but fork me sideways, it's NOT a fantasy story! It takes place in the real world, and there's no magic, no alternate dimensions, no made up anything. Actual people. This is a problem for me! The one thing I could always rely on is that if I needed something to be possible, I could just decide that in that world, it was possible! I've finished six (almost seven) really awful stories with that logic! How am I going to bullshiitake my way out of plotholes when it takes place in the real world?!

Anyway, good luck all. It's sunday evening here at the moment, so I have one more night and then it's on, baby.

Whenever I need a way out of a plothole, I play ideas ping pong with a friend. Talk it back and forth over a beer (or coffee or chai latte or whatever) until it's resolved! It totally works, and I've come up with some really crazy (but working and plausible) ideas that way. All it needed was the right sort of nudge from a like-minded friend.

The only thing that worries me about this is the fact that you have to upload your novel after it is done, to prove that you've done it. I'm really paranoid it will get stolen, even if it turns out to be utter crepe.

They address this somewhere in the FAQ--it essentially just goes into server RAM to get counted, and then gets deleted.

However, something they suggest if you are worried about that is to save a copy of your novel and do a find and replace where you go through and replace letters with another letter (IE change every A to a J and every S to a W or something) or replace real words with made-up ones. The computer that does the word count validation isn't checking if your words are REAL, just if they're there.

Also, you don't HAVE to upload and show you did it. That's just how you get the big winner badge on your forum page and that kind of stuff. If you don't care about that, then no worries!

_________________Your heart is a muscle the size of a fistKeep loving, keep fighting

The only thing that worries me about this is the fact that you have to upload your novel after it is done, to prove that you've done it. I'm really paranoid it will get stolen, even if it turns out to be utter crepe.

They address this somewhere in the FAQ--it essentially just goes into server RAM to get counted, and then gets deleted.

However, something they suggest if you are worried about that is to save a copy of your novel and do a find and replace where you go through and replace letters with another letter (IE change every A to a J and every S to a W or something) or replace real words with made-up ones. The computer that does the word count validation isn't checking if your words are REAL, just if they're there.

Also, you don't HAVE to upload and show you did it. That's just how you get the big winner badge on your forum page and that kind of stuff. If you don't care about that, then no worries!

I didn't see this in the FAQ. I actually feel a lot better now. The replacement letter thing is great idea. Thank you.

_________________Real vegans eat nothing but organic, grass-fed grass. - FootFaceI avoid protein on principle. - IsaChandraI used to dress up like Wonder Woman but I didn't grow up to an Amazon Princess who dabbles in bondage and flys an invisible jet. -idatetattoedguys

I don't write, but I know several professional writers, and given how much time they put into writing a novel I do not understand how anyone could write anything substantial (and good) in a month!

I think the website even talks about the fact that it's probably going to be crepe, but I guess it's about proving that you can write so many words in 30 days.

Also, the NaNo page tells you somewhere that you shouldn't expect having written a finished novel at the end of November. It's good practice, and you may have a finished rough draft. If it's good, you can spend more time revising it, and...voilà.

I don't write, but I know several professional writers, and given how much time they put into writing a novel I do not understand how anyone could write anything substantial (and good) in a month!

I think the website even talks about the fact that it's probably going to be crepe, but I guess it's about proving that you can write so many words in 30 days.

Also, the NaNo page tells you somewhere that you shouldn't expect having written a finished novel at the end of November. It's good practice, and you may have a finished rough draft. If it's good, you can spend more time revising it, and...voilà.

Yeah, the idea is to bypass the internal critical editor and all the excuses so that you finish something, and that that success will begat more success.

I was planning to do it, but I a, too far behind on school work. I will do it on my own I. January.

_________________"This is the creepiest post ever if you don't know who Molly is." -Fee"a vegan death match sounds like something where we all end up hugging." -LisaPunk

I don't write, but I know several professional writers, and given how much time they put into writing a novel I do not understand how anyone could write anything substantial (and good) in a month!

I think the website even talks about the fact that it's probably going to be crepe, but I guess it's about proving that you can write so many words in 30 days.

Also, the NaNo page tells you somewhere that you shouldn't expect having written a finished novel at the end of November. It's good practice, and you may have a finished rough draft. If it's good, you can spend more time revising it, and...voilà.

That makes more sense! I've never read up on it (seriously, when I say "I don't write" what I really mean is "I am the least creative person ever, so I couldn't write fiction even if I wanted to"), but the notion of writing a novel in 30 days has always blown my mind.

I spilled half a liter of coke on my MacBook during the first day of Nanowrimo. I had almost 700 words and now I have to start over. I'm so pissed off. (And I'm not even mentioning the fact that my MacBook is dead, which is seriously... so painful.) I'm trying to get it back together, I'm at 300 words now, but it feels like it's not going to happen for me this year.

I must pick it up tomorrow!

_________________Yeah it’s two R’s, h-o-r-r... yeah, right."So something ripped him open and ate out his insides?" "Like an oreo cookie! ... well, except for, you know, without the chocolaty cookie goodness."DON'T WARN THE TADPOLES!